1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to seed cleaning, and more particularly to cleaning a particular type of grass seed known as fluffy seed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent times, there has been a great revival to plant certain grasses that were native to the North American continent. These grasses are called either native grasses or range grasses and included the following specific grasses:
All of the Bouteloua which are known as the Grama family such as Bouteloua Curipendula (Sideoats Grama), Bouteloua Gracilis (Blue Grama), and also the other gramas commonly known as black grama and premier grama.
All of the Andropogon which are known as the Bluestem family such as Andropogon scoparium (Little Bluestem), Andropogon Hallii (Sand Bluestem), and also the other bluestems commonly known as King Ranch; Plains; WW Spar; Ganada; Old World: T-587; Caucasian; Kaw (Big); Elida and Woodward (Sand); and Cimmaron, Pastura, and Native Mix (Little).
Also, Sorghastrum Nutans known as Indiangrass.
The above list is by way of example and by no means meant to be inclusive.
In planting grass seed, it is desirable to plant the seed in their husk. In general in this application, when the term "seed" is used, it is meant the caryopsis with husk. It is difficult to plant the seed either with fine trash or with coarse trash because of the nature of grass planting devices that are commercially available.
Before this invention, the seed could be cleaned so that only about 20% of the material by weight was caryopsis. After this invention, the seed are cleaned so that 50% of the material by weight caryopsis. Actually about 98% of the material after cleaning are the seed with seed husk attached. The seed husk account for approximately the same amount of weight as the caryopsis themselves. Since it is desirable to plant the seed with the husk, this is a very high degree of cleaning, considering that inasmuch as before this invention over half of the material delivered to the farmer for planting would be trash, either trash that was larger than the seed or trash that was smaller and finer than the seed, both of which were detrimental to the seeding process through the seeders which were commercially available to the farmer.
The seed of the grasses listed above are known as fluffy seed. This is because of the particular shape of the seed husk and the covering on the seed husk by which they can be distributed by the wind and the fur and coats of animals.
Cleaning fluffy seeds present particular problems. All of these seeds are very small and none of them have a thickness of more than 1/8" and most of them have a thickness of far less than 1/8". Because they have the husk on them to be carried by the wind, they are as easily carried by the trash that is sought to be separated from them.
The caryopsis will be over 100,000 seed per pound.
Before this application was filed, applicant was familiar with RICH, #491,594 issued in 1893; RICHARDSON, #609,212 issued in 1898; WALSH, #660,232 issued in 1900; and PERKINS #1,675,049 issued in 1928. It is applicant's understanding that all of these patents have pockets, recesses, cells, or indentation wherein oat seed or grains will fit but other grains and trash will not; and therefore, uses them for cleaning purposes.
Also, GREEN, #1,019,041 issued in 1912, is understood to operate on the same principle as the four patents listed above. However, GREEN does use a wire cloth.
Prior to the invention described herein, seed were basically cleaned by two methods, either sifting or scalping.
By sifting seed, it is meant that the seed were placed on a screen, the mesh of which was smaller than the thickness of the seed; and therefore, the seed would ride on top of the screen, and foreign material would pass through the screen.
By scalping seed, it is meant that the mesh of the screen was larger than the seed and the seed would drop through the holes or mesh in the screen, and the foreign material would stay on top of the screen.